Clattenberg: "My game was to let Tottenham lose the title"

[rossdapep]

Mark Clattenburg admits that he “allowed” Tottenham to “self-destruct” as opposed to actually, y’know, refereeing their game against Chelsea in 2016.

Tottenham missed out on the Premier League title in the 2015/16 season after a 2-2 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

A record nine Spurs players were booked in a bitter clash, and both they and Chelsea were handed record fines by the FA in the aftermath.

Clattenburg, the referee for the match, believes the game “certainly benefited” from his “style of refereeing”. Which was not to send off Eric Dier even if he attempted to murder someone.

“I allowed them to self-destruct so all the media, all the people in the world went: ‘Tottenham lost the title’,” he told NBC’s Men in Blazers podcast.

“If I sent three players off from Tottenham, what are the headlines? ‘Clattenburg cost Tottenham the title.’ It was pure theatre that Tottenham self-destructed against Chelsea and Leicester won the title.”

When asked if he helped to “script” the game, he added: “I helped the game. I certainly benefited the game by my style of refereeing.

“Some referees would have played by the book; Tottenham would have been down to seven or eight players and probably lost and they would’ve been looking for an excuse.

“But I didn’t give them an excuse, because my gameplan was: Let them lose the title.”

We've known for sometime how egotistical this bloke is but I find this claim staggeringly unprofessional and against the best interests of the game.

Your job is to referee, not think about other matters and aspects that are at stake you asshat.

It really goes to show what we were up against that year. Anyone and everyone wanted Leicester to win that title.

 

[Bulletspur]

We threw away a 2 goal lead. Blaming Clattenburg despite this egotistical stance is pointless. He didn't lose his head, we did

 

[NinjaTuna]

Atleast he allowed us to watch Dier clatter three Chelsea players. The one on Fabregas(?) could easily have snapped both his legs

 

[nightgoat]

Presumably why he declined to issue Chelsea the three straight red cards they should have had (but no one in the media bothered to mention). Smug prick.

 

[SlotBadger]

Silly toupée-wearing testicle tickler.

 

[cozzo]

Even if we had won that game, Leicester were winning every game so its moot

 

[14/04/91]

Wow. Astonishing comments from a 'professional'

 

[Gassin's finest]

He's saying he left them to lose their composure, as opposed to sending them off... which he could quite easily have done. That it was better to let us ruin it for ourselves, rather than himself costing us the title.

As it turned out, we were more than capable of fucking things up ourselves. Which anyone from following us in the 90's should have known already.

 

[tiger666]

All he said is he left it to us to lose it instead of sending us off.

 

[WorcesterTHFC]

Atleast he allowed us to watch Dier clatter three Chelsea players. The one on Fabregas(?) could easily have snapped both his legs

If I saw Fabregas on fire across the street from me, not only would I not piss on the bastard, but I'd pull up a chair, grab some popcorn, sit back and enjoy.
As for Clattenburg, this is further proof of his lack of suitability to be an official.

 

[worcestersauce]

Surely what the media or anybody else says should have no effect on how he refereed the game, if someone had been sent off it may have changed the game instead of allowing it to fester, I am amazed by his confession and the fact that he seems proud of it astonishes me.

 

[rossdapep]

We threw away a 2 goal lead. Blaming Clattenburg despite this egotistical stance is pointless. He didn't lose his head, we did

Not entirely blaming him for us throwing a two-goal lead away but it goes to show how important influential figures in the game (who had say in matters) wanted us to blow it, which is exactly how many of us felt at the time.

As @nightgoat mentioned, Chelsea players were clearly trying to wind us up and get in our heads, there was Terry's elbow and some other moments that should have been punished but Clattenberg decided to do nothing as he states "I let them lose their heads and the title". If he hadn't have had this attitude he may have clamped down on a few things first, which would have settled the intense atmosphere, except he let it get out of control - that's his job!

There's a wider issue at play here too. If Clattenberg is owning to this behaviour, how many other refs are of the same mindset? We saw how utterly useless Atkinson was at the weekend. Was he deliberately letting Watford get away with shit? We've had some appalling decisions against us over the years, which does make you wonder "Is the ref deliberately turning a blind eye to favour another team?".

I don't see how something like this can be instantly dismissed. It happens at all levels, in all leagues. Some teams get ridiculous decisions in their favour whereas others get instant punishment. I'm not saying all refs go out there with an agenda to punish one team and let another off with things but as human beings somethings must affect their judgment or their integrity.

 

[hughy]

Cry for attention.

"Remember me..." plea from Clattenburg. Poor guy.

 

[robbiedee]

because my gameplan was: Let them lose the title

Should a ref be going into any match with some sort of a game plan???

Regardless of what went on that day...this last line just seems a bit...hmmmmmm.

 

[theShiznit]

Whether what he did was right or wrong is moot. A professional ref really shouldn't be saying shit like this.

He trying to sell a book or something?

 

[buckley]

What a load of tosh if clattenberg had booked the chelsea players in the first half as he should have done then chelsea would have been down to ten men before all the trouble started.
The worst culprit being fabregas also they had more players given yellow cards in the second half who had they been booked in the first half they could have been down to eight men had clusterfuck done his job but no he said it was his duty to keep 22 players on the field. That is a staple remark made by referees to not booking players when they should have.Now this muppet is trying to paint himself as some kind of hero when in fact he was the arch villain who robbed us of the victory we deserved

 

[theShiznit]

It was his allowing of their rough house tactics that caused us to lose our heads and stoop to their level.

But why do we need this shit dug up again?

 

[Jimmypearce7]

He is an egomaniac. We lost (or drew but it felt like losing) to a team determined to stop us winning the league- which we would probably have failed to do even if we had won because it still left us behind Leicester.
The ref didn't affect that. How did he have a game plan when he didn't know what would happen in it anyway? Plus none of our players deserved to be sent off.
Shows what is wrong with refereeing- they should be there to help the match, not to be the centre of attention.

 

[Archibald&Crooks]

Shows what is wrong with refereeing- they should be there to help the match, not to be the centre of attention.

That is essentially what he's saying. If he'd have sent players off he would be the reason we lost the title. Although he could have just kept his great big gob shut over this, it's NOW that he's doing that. He always was a prick and this is all just bitterness.

 

[WorcesterTHFC]

Should a ref be going into any match with some sort of a game plan???

Regardless of what went on that day...this last line just seems a bit...hmmmmmm.

Surely a ref's and linesman's only 'game plan' should be to make sure the laws of the game are followed, without any bias. When the game was getting out of control, Clattenburg should have had appropriate words with the captains. Maybe he and the police's commanding officer on duty that evening should have spoken to the teams before the game (especially BNP FC) about the need to prevent adding to an already volatile atmosphere.